Fed Govt to prosecute occupants of right-of-way

The Federal Government has threatened to punish any road users blocking the right-of-way to prevent road damage and the ensure free-flow of traffic.

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola spoke in Oyo at the weekend while inspecting Section II of the Oyo-Ogbomosho and Lagos/Ibadan Expressway.

According to him, most of the roads have been taken over by trucks indiscriminately parked on the left and right of the roads, thereby limiting the right-of-way.

“We are going to develop strategies to repossess the right-of-way, which is 45 meters on both sides from the centre line; it is the law. I am using this opportunity to appeal to those occupying the right-of-way to leave voluntarily, otherwise we shall take them over by compulsion”

“Next week, I will be meeting controllers across the 36 states to agree on guidelines to manage the highways for safety and recover the right-of-way so that motorists can move freely.” he said

Fashola said:” This country is such a beautiful country but Nigerians does not have the opportunity to see their country because they cannot travel due to bad roads. We can even use this to build our unity when everybody have the opportunity to travel and interact with one another”

Reacting on the pace of the Oyo/Ogbomoso road, he said:” I think the progress is obvious here when compared to where it was three years ago, although other constraints are affecting the contractors but it will be address on time. Contractors are back to work and they promise to employ more people to the site to benefit from the economic benefit. “